Happiness is . . . a New Sweater

I have so much I’d love to tell you, but I’m finding it very difficult to squeeze any writing minutes out of my day. So for now, here’s my finished Tangled Yoke Cardigan — I’m so pleased with it! Click on the photo if you’d like to look more closely at the details of buttons or cables or the garter rib (a new stitch discovery for me — and I like it!).

I’m also enjoying our new (earlier this summer) teak furniture in our new (last winter/spring) pergola, especially in the wonderful weather we’re having — already a week of sunshine and low-to-mid-20s temperatures, with another week scheduled. Love it! I only wish I got home earlier from work so I could hang out in the hammock for another week or so. . .

One other thing I wanted to point out with these photos is how I mix knitted garments into my wardrobe so as not to look too frumpy or crafty (I do think that can be a problem). My first rule is that I never wear two hand-knit pieces at once, except perhaps for matching hat/mitts or hat/scarf (so far, I don’t do that either, but I might). And to that rule, I’d add that if I’m wearing a hand-knit garment, I’m likely to keep everything else quite simple — I guess Imogen would say I’m letting the sweater be my “hero” garment, so everything else has to be a supporting actor.

Before I go, I’d also like to say that this time crunch means not only that I’m writing less here, but also that I’m finding it tough to comment at the various blogs I love to visit. Please know that I’m still stopping by and I’ll get back to commenting as soon as I can.

16 Comments

  1. Patricia
    24 September 2009 / 6:38 am

    Very pretty – love the muted colour too! Patricia

  2. Tiffany
    24 September 2009 / 7:25 am

    That is just GORGEOUS! And very fetchingly worn with the boyfriend jeans and the belt! Nothing frumpy or crafty happening there. You're making me want to knit again … if only I could find the time between work, kids, fixing up new house, reading, etc!

  3. Mardel
    24 September 2009 / 12:59 pm

    Beautiful sweater. I love the way you've worn it with those lovely boyfriend jeans and a tee. I tend to limit my hand-knits to star status too, wearing them with simple things, like jeans or a simple skirt or pants. I agree it is easy to get carried away with too much craftiness. But i see no chance of that in your photos just elegant casual simplicity.

  4. Duchesse
    24 September 2009 / 1:50 pm

    So delicate and graceful, and the colour of the sea- just beautiful.

    IMO Birkenstocks with any handmade item, nooooo.

  5. Susan B
    24 September 2009 / 2:06 pm

    That sweater is gorgeous and looks wonderful on! The color is perfect for you.

  6. jillian
    24 September 2009 / 3:14 pm

    Gorgeous! The color is wonderful and it fits perfectly on you.

    For a while I had a hard time mixing in the knit garments, and then I realized I wasn't seeing them like all my other clothes. Now that I do that, more ideas present themselves on how to work them into an outfit without it being frumpy or too, eclectic, shall we say 🙂

  7. TheSundayBest
    24 September 2009 / 6:30 pm

    Happiness is most definitely a new sweater.

  8. mette
    24 September 2009 / 7:13 pm

    Simply beautiful. No accessories needed.

  9. Lesley
    24 September 2009 / 8:00 pm

    I adore that whole look.

  10. LPC
    24 September 2009 / 8:26 pm

    You look very happy, comfortable, relaxed, well-dressed. Don't worry about us:).

  11. indigo16
    24 September 2009 / 10:03 pm

    Yes , the cardie looks lovley and so much better than generic ones in the shops.
    The bench too looks great, I dream of such a bench or a swing but I never sit in the garden, I always feel guilty that I should be 'doing' something.
    Snap with the weather, can't believe my luck, no coat needed as yet.
    Yes, my commenting too has hit the dust since my access was blocked at school. Just to write this I have had plead with my daughter.
    But finally the weekend is here.
    You might feel my pain when I tell you that I was offered a free ticket to Rigoletto that has just opned at the Coliseum I couldn't go because Daisy was having her moles removed, heartbreaking no?

  12. Maggie
    25 September 2009 / 2:25 am

    Such A beautiful sweater!

  13. materfamilias
    25 September 2009 / 3:48 am

    Thanks, Patricia.
    Tiffany, what's wrong with you? You need to knit while driving the kids to their lessons and perhaps knitting and writing for your clients could be done simultaneously and surely you can make dinner and knit . . . .;-)
    Mardel: Thanks, and agreed — you know whereof I speak!
    Duchesse: Thanks to you as well. I would rarely wear my Birks with handknits, primarily because they belong to different seasons. But I do wear my knit "jean skirt" (indigo-dyed cotton, with ruffles, you know the one) with my simple-thong metallic-silver Birks, and I think the combo is fine. Wouldn't wear my 20-year old faded blue suede, double strapped Birks with knits though (in fact, those babies are strictly for at-home wear, and even then . . .)
    Thanks, Pseu!
    Jillian: I think that's key — just try to look objectively at the garments, almost as if they'd been purchased. I found that tough at first, because there's all kinds of other stuff tangled up in them from the knitting process, but in the end they also have to work as garments, not simply as crafts-on-display.
    Thom: Yes
    Metscan, Lesley, and LPC: Thanks, all.
    IndieAl: Noooooo! Not Rigoletto!! Oh, that's a painful one to miss. The things we do as Moms!
    And Maggie — thanks for commenting and thanks for the sweater-compliment!

  14. Gina
    27 September 2009 / 11:03 pm

    Late to the comments, but I wanted to say that the cardigan is absolutely lovely. The color is so well-suited to you. It's fantastic.

  15. materfamilias
    29 September 2009 / 3:03 am

    Thanks, Gina — I'm really enjoying it! I know that you, as a knitter, appreciate how many sweaters end up disappointing us after all that work, so I really celebrate the ones that suit.

  16. La Belette Rouge
    29 September 2009 / 7:59 pm

    The colour is fantastic of you and reads more as a "heroine" garment to my eye; it is soft, feminine and is a strong lead.

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